Citizen Kane

Synopsis

It's terrific!

Newspaper magnate, Charles Foster Kane is taken from his mother as a boy and made the ward of a rich industrialist. As a result, every well-meaning, tyrannical or self-destructive move he makes for the rest of his life appears in some way to be a reaction to that deeply wounding event.

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[Redundant praise] [Joke about sleds] [Regurgitated and bastardized interpretations of technical feats of skill on display] [Insincere complaint about waiting so long to watch] [Unnecessary recommendation for anyone who hasn't seen it to finally do so]

My 1,000th film marked on this site ever since I joined, now over a year ago. I knew for such an occasion it had to be something special. Something important. Something, epic.

Then I thought of one film, THE film, I still have yet to see. What have many described as the greatest film ever made. The one that changed the landmark of cinema. The one that still influences film making to this very day. Orson Welles', "Citizen Kane".

A film that has been talked about for decades now. Highly regarded as the true peak of its medium. Something that most filmmakers have seen, studied, and deconstructed for years on end, now being viewed by a teenager in Long Island.…

I’m not naïve enough to think that I have anything new to offer in my entirely unnecessary ode to Citizen Kane, but I'll continue writing this anyway because I like writing about films, and Citizen Kane is a film, all right, and a Towering Masterpiece of Cinema at that. I’d have to be exceedingly smart or exceedingly stupid to dispute that, and I reckon I fall somewhere in between.

Pulling apart Citizen Kane shot by shot is more than enough to learn how to make a film, but pulling apart the film's circular structure is also a brilliant way to learn how to tell a story. Since I attempt to write, it's the narrative structure of Citizen Kane that interests…

So, I’ve finally seen this hugely influential and essential classic. What can I possibly say? It’s Citizen Kane! But oh yes, it's terrific. It's quite an intimidating fact that Welles starred in, wrote, produced and directed probably the most influential film of all time at an age of 25. Well, I still have a few years to accomplish something like that.

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MESSAGE/INFORMATION: Tomorrow I’m leaving for 2 months as I’m travelling to Southeast Asia with a buddy. So no movies and (probably) no activity for a good amount of time. I’ll be home mid-april. Farewell Letterboxd and all you nice people! hope you exist and is just as awesome when I'm back haha

Citizen Kane is the motion picture which, since its release, has been widely regarded by almost all critics, filmmakers & even many viewers around the world as the greatest film of all time. And although I agree to some extent that, purely on a technical scale, this might be the most influential movie ever made but based solely on its story, there are far better examples than this one.

Still, there is no denying that Citizen Kane is a boldly crafted feature which not only defied all the conventional methods of feature filmmaking that were in use during its production but also ended up completely rewriting the manuals of filmmaking in the process. The film tells the story of a publishing…

I deeply admire and respect it every time without having ever quite learned to love it or cherish it as an all-time favorite. I feel like something might change if I see it on the big screen. If nothing else, it should be hitting theaters again in 2021.

okay so, I have a lot of thoughts. for a film made in 1941 this was incredible and absolutely revolutionary for film as a storytelling medium. you cannot compare it to modern films, if it wasnt for this film we may not have the types of films we have today. modern films have ten times the amount technologies and capabilities than citizen kane had in its time. yes, the story was a little bit boring but overall it conveyed an important message all while experimenting with camera shots, lighting and editing. Orson Welles created a long lasting masterpiece and I'm glad we got the chance to study this in class

This film is very clean, thematic and poetic. For a filmmaker to direct, write and perform in leading role like this at only 25 years old is amazing. Orson Welles is man of framing, intercontected narrative structures, taking risks and brings the best performances.

The character of Citizen Kane is an odessey, the story is paced well through a collection of flashbacks, the visuals and sets are centered and massive as i have ever seen and the music is great.

For my first viewing of Orson Welles he's another filmmaker of inspiriation.

idk man i mean the mise-en-scène and cinematography were brilliant and i can appreciate the fact that this was made in the early 40’s but it just felt all over the place in terms of structure with all the different perspectives and i couldn’t really get into it...

Watched with Roger Ebert’s commentary which does a really great job of explaining the visual ingenuity on show here & how Welles pulled it all off, among other things. Really interesting stuff if that’s your thing.